Centrifugal machine



W 9 W34, L. J. BARRETT ET A1,, 1,953,123

CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed Aug. 4, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 8, 1934. L. J. BARRETT E! AL. 1,958,323

CENTRIFUGAL MAC H INE Filed Aug. 4,1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 8, 1934 Nl'TED STATES CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Leon 3. Barrett and George E. Garno, Worcester, Mass; said Gar-no assignor to said Barrett Application August 4,

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to centrifugal machines of the type characterized by the provision of a rotatable container adapted to be driven at a high rate of speed so that the centrifugal force developed by rotation of the container will cause the circulation of air or liquid through any articles within the container for the purpose of washing, coating or drying the same.

The machine of the present invention is particularly characterized by the introduction of either air or liquid at substantially the center of the container so that centrifugal force causes effective circulation of the washing or drying medium through the articles in the container. The machine may be used for either washing or coating articles through introduction of a liquid into the container, or it may be used as a dryer or extractor, in which case the centrifugal effect tends to remove moisture from the articles. Furthermore, the drying effect on the articles within the container may be accelerated in the present machine by heating and drying the air at the point where it enters the machine so that the air circulated through the container is in a most favorable condition for removing moisture from the articles therein.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine that is extremely safe from an operating standpoint, inasmuch as the lid of the outside casing of the machine is automatical- 1y locked so long as the article container within the casing is being rotatably driven. A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved mounting for the whole rotating structure of the machine, so that the machine will operate without excessive vibration under varying load conditions and in addition, the machine provides improved means for ventilating the driving motor and for shielding the motor from liquid which is being handled by the machine. The above and other advantageous features of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the universal mounting for the motor, the section being taken at right angles to the section of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the upper portion of the machine showing the details of construction of the article container, and means for admitting air or fluid thereto.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of those portions of the machine shown in Fig. 1 showing the cooperation between the means for locking the lid of the machine, and the controller for the driving motor.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing the result of moving the motor controller into a different position from that shown in Fig. 4.

1930, Serial No. 472,988

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing the looking of the motor controller when the lid is open.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the machine comprises a base 1 which supports a hollow pedestal 2 enclosing the driving motor and other mechanism which will be hereinafter described. The top of the pedestal 2 supports a cylindrical casing 3 which provides a heavy base ring 4 secured to the pedestal 2 in any suitable manner, as by bolts 5. A central opening 6 within the base ring 4 of the casing 3 is surrounded by an upwardly extending annular flange 7, so that moisture collecting at the bottom of the casing 3 will be retained by the flange 7 and can be readily withdrawn from the casing 3 through a hooded passage 8 extending from one side of the base ring 4 and adapted to receive a pipe 9 for draining the casing, as desired.

A hollow bowl 10 is rotatably supported within the casing 3, the side walls of the bowl being cut away at 11, for a purpose which will hereinafter appear, with the base 12 of the bowl being secured to a carrier 13 that rotates with the vertical shaft 14. The carrier 13 is keyed to the shaft 14 at 15 and is held against axial movement thereon by a lock nut 16 so that the bowl l0 and the shaft 14 rotate in unison, the carrier 13 being made separate from the bowl 10 for convenience of manufacture and assembly. The solid base 12 of the bowl 10 also prevents moisture from reaching the nut 16 and working its way downwardly into the interior of the motor which drives the shaft 14.

The shaft 14 carries the rotor or armature 17 of an electric motor and is rotatably supported in bearings 18 and 19 carried by the end frames 20 and 21 of the motor. The motor end frames 20 and 21 support between them the stator 22 of the motor, the stator carrying the windings 22a, and the end frames 20 and 21 and the stator 22 are securely bolted together to form a substantially unitary structure surrounding the rotor 17 and shaft 14. The lower end frame 21 is recessed to receive a bearing block 23 which provides a concave seat 24 for receiving a spherical bearing 25 carried by the base 1, so that the entire motor structure together with the bowl 10 carried by the shaft 14 is capable of pivotal movement about the center of the bearing 25. A pin 26 extends through the bearing 25 with its flattened ends 26a received in suitable slots 2'7 provided on opposite sides of the bearing block, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. It is evident that the pin 26 will permit movement of the motor structure both about the axis of the pin and about the center of the bearing. But at the same time the pin 26 will prevent rotative movement of the bearing block 23 about the axis of the shaft 14. The lower motor end frame 21 provides projecting lugs 28, each having an opening 29 for loosely receiving a bolt 30 threaded at its lower end into the base 1 with the portion of the bolt extending above the lug 28 surrounded by a spring 31 held on the bolt 30 by lock nuts 32. The several springs 31 pressing downwardly on the motor frame through the lugs 28 tend to maintain the motor structure in an upright position on the spherical bearing 25 and at the same time cause a heavy pressure to be exerted between the seat 24 of the bearing block 23 and the spherical bearing 25. This pressure between the bearing block and the bearing has a stabilizing effect on the wholemotor structure which is capable of pivotal movement about the center of the bearing 25 in response to forces set up by rotation of the bowl l0 and the load carried thereby. The pressure between the bearing block 23 and the spherical bearing 25 can be increased or decreased as desired, by turning the nuts 32 on the bolts 30 to obtain the desired pressure from the springs 31.

The lower motor end frame 21 also provides a number of passages 33 leading directly to the windings 22a of the stator 22 and the upper end frame 20 provides passages 34 leading to a number of fan blades 35 provided around the lower edge of the bowl carrier 13 which rotates with shaft 14. Consequently, when the motor is operating, rotation of the blades 35 causes air to be drawn in through openings 2a provided in the wall of the pedestal 2 from whence the air passes into the openings 33 in the lower end frame and upwardly through the interior of the motor' to effectively cool the same. The warm air discharged by the blades 35 from the passages 34 passes into the space 6 within the base ring 4 of the casing 3 and from thence upwardly into the casing below the base 12 of the bowl 10. With this arrangement for cooling the motor, there is practically no chance of any moisture coming in contact with the windings 22a since the incoming air enters the openings 33 in the lower end frame 21 inside of the pedestal 2.

The top of the casing 3 provides an opening 36 and a pair of ears 37 project from the casing 3 adjacent to the opening 36 for receiving the hinge pin 38 of the lid 39, as best shown in Fig. 4. The circular edge of the lid 39 provides an annular downwardly extending flange 40 which is adapted to fit closely within the opening 36 and seal the casing 3 when the lid 39 is closed. The lid 39 provides a central opening 41 through which air or liquid may be admitted to the casing 3 and while this opening 41 is shown free in Fig. 1, the present invention contemplates the provision of means received within the opening 41 to control the admission of air or liquid to a basket or article container carried by the bowl 10. As best shown in Fig. 3, the flaring walls of the open bowl are adapted to closely receive and support the container 42 which is frustoconical in form, the circular wall portions of the container 42 being provided with perforations 43. The base 44 of the container 42 provides an upwardly extending hollow conical portion 45 open at its top andprovided with perforations 46 around its side walls and with slots 47 where the walls join the base to give direct access from the inside of the cone 45 to the lower portion of the container 42. The cone 45 is disposed symmetrically with respect to the opening 41 of the lid 39 and is adapted to cooperate with the control head 48 received within the lid opening 41 for admitting either air or liquid to the container 42, as will next be described.

The control head 48 provides a circular flange 49 secured to the lid 39 around the opening 41 in any suitable manner, as by bolts 50 and this flange 49 provides openings 51 adapted to admit air into the casing 3 immediately above an opening 52 provided in the removable cover 53 for the bowl 10. The cover 53 closely engages the rim of the container 42 to hold it in position within the bowl and the cone 45 extends upwardly through the opening 52. Consequently, when the container 42 is rotated at high speed with the bowl 10, air will be drawn in through the openings 51, most of it entering directly into the container 42 through the central opening 52 in the bowl cover 53, although some of this air will be drawn into the cone 45 and will pass outwardly through the perforations 46 so as to distribute the air through the articles in the container 42 before it is finally expelled through the perforations 43 in the sides of the container 42. Should it be desired to heat and dry the air drawn into the openings 51, in order to accelerate the drying effect within the container 42, this may be accomplished by mounting electrical heating elements 54 in openings 55 provided in the head 48 so that air drawn into the openings 51 will pass over the heated metal adjacent to the heating elements 54. Thus the air entering the casing 3 through the opening 51 will be elecrically dried out before it enters the container 42 and coming in contact with the moist articles therein, whereby the circulating air gives the maximum drying effect owing to its ability to absorb moisture from the articles. In other words, the heating elements 54 serve to lower the humidity of the air just before the air comes into contact with the articles in the container 42.

For the purpose of admitting fluid to the container 42 when it is desired to wash or coat articles therein, the head 48 provides a pipe 56 extending downwardly into the casing 3 and terminating at a point just above the opening at the top of the cone 45. Fluid is adapted to be admitted to the down pipe 56 through a valve 57 turnable in the head 48 and providinga passage 58 which is adapted to connect the down pipe 56 to a supply pipe 59 when the valve is turned into the position shown in Fig. 3. The valve 5'7 provides a spindle 57a by means of which it may be readily operated so as to control the admission of washing or coating fluid to the container 42 through the cone 45 and down pipe 56. When fluid is admitted to the container 42 by the down pipe 56 with the container rotating at high speed, the perforations 46 in the cone 45 deliver a large number of small jets of fluid with considerable force, thereby causing the fluid to thoroughly penetrate the articles within the container. At the same time the slots 47 at the bottom of the cone 45 admit what practically amounts to a solid sheet of water to the base 44 of the container 42 and centrifugal force causes this water to flow upwardly along the flaring walls of the container 42. As a result of the combined action of the jets delivered by the cone 45 and the water traveling up the walls of the container with a whirling motion, articles within the container 42 are thoroughly washed or coated, as the case may be, the liquid finally leaving the container through perforations 43. From the foregoing, it is obvious that the control head 48 provides an extremely effective means whereby the admission of both liquid and air to the container 42 can be controlled both as regards the amount of fluid admitted and the temperature and the humidity of air drawn into the container by the rotation thereof at high speed.

As previously pointed out, the present invention also contemplates the provision of means for preventing the rotation of the article container when the machine is opened, as well as means for preventing opening of the machine when the container is rotating under power and this mechanism will next be described. As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the lid 39 of the casing 3 provides a handle 60 opposite to its hinge 38, the handle 60 being pivotally mounted on a pin 61 supported by lugs 62 projecting upwardly from the lid 39. As shown in Fig. 1, the handle 60 provides a shoulder 63 extending under a portion 64 connecting the lugs 62 and a spring 65 tends to maintain the handle 60 in a vertical position with respect to its pivot by holding the shoulder 63 in engagement with the portion 64. The handle 60 also provides a downwardly extending portion 66 ending in a turned-over latch 67 which is adapted to engage a shoulder 68 provided by a boss 69 formed on the casing 3 adjacent to the edge of the opening 86. When the lid 89 is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, the spring 65 acting on the handle 60 tends to maintain the latch 67 in engagement with the shoulder 68, thereby holding the lid 39 closed. In order to open the lid 39, it is necessary to turn the handle 60 in a clockwise direction about it pivot pin 61 thereby causing the latch 67 to clear the shoulder 68 and permit the lid to be swung back on its hinge 38. In order to obtain easy turning movement of the relatively heavy lid on its hinge 38, the hinge pin is surrounded by a coil spring 70 anchored to the hinge pm at one end and bearing on one hinge lug 71 of the lid 39 at the other end. The tension of the spring 70 is so adjusted that it tends to counterbalance the weight of the lid 39 which tends to hold it closed, so that the lid 39 can be swung back to open the casing 3 with a relatively small effort.

As previously pointed out, the invention contemplates the provision of means whereby the electric motor driving the bowl l0 and container 42 can not be started until the lid 39 has been fully closed and latched, as shown in Fig. l, and one preferred manner of accomplishing this result is shown in the drawings. There is indicated at 72 an electrical controller from which conductors '73 lead to the motor through a suitable conduit 74, and the controller 72 provides an operating shaft 75 which extends upwardly and terminates in a handle 76 adjacent to the handle 60 of the lid 39 when the latter is closed, as shown in Fig. 4. The motor controller handle 76 provides a flange 77 in which is formed a notch 78 located directly above the head 79 of a locking plunger 80, as best shown in Fig. 1. The plunger 80 is forced upwardly by a spring 81 so as to engage the notch 78, if unopposed; but when the lid 39 is closed and the latch portion 67 of the handle 60 is in engagement with the shoulder 68, the head 79 of the locking pin 80 is pushed downwardly so as to be free of the notch 78 provided in the flange 77 of the motor control handle 76. Consequently, with the parts in the position shown in Fig. l, the motor control handle 76 may be turned in either direction to operate the motor as desired, through connections established in the controller 72. With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 4, the motor controller handle 76 is in neutral position and the motor is not connected to the source, but it is obvious that should the handle 76 be turned in either direction from this position the flange 77 will be moved into such a position that it will prevent turning of the handle 60 to release the latch 67, as indicated in Fig.

5. Consequently, with the motor controller handle 76 turned into any position for operating the motor, it will be impossible to open the lid 39, and the operatorof the machine is eifectively safe guarded against the possibility of injury caused by opening the machine while the article container 42 is rotating at high speed, under power.

The above described interlocking of the lid 39 with the motor controller 72 also prevents the motor from being started while the lid 39 is open, for it is obvious from Fig. 1 that when the handle 60 is turned upwardly to release the latch 6'7 from the shoulder 68 in order to raise the lid, the spring 81 will immediately press the plunger 80 upwardly to cause its head 79 to be received in the notch 78 provided in the flange 77 carried by the motor controller handle 76, as shown in Fig. 6. Therefore so long as the head 79 of the plunger 80 remains in this notch 78, it is impossible to turn the controller handle 76 in either direction from its neutral position in which the motor is deenergized. Furthermore, it is impossible to start the motor even though the lid 39 be partly closed, for the latch 67 will not press down the plunger 80 until it is fully received in engagement with the shoulder 68, thereby actually clamping down the lid 39. This arrangement insures that the motor can not possibly be started until everything is in readiness for operating the machine with both the cover 53 of the bowl 10 locked in position and with the lid 39 of the casing 3 securely latched.

In Fig. l the bowl 10 is shown as being provided with a cover 53 cooperating with the rim of the bowl 10, so as to be locked in position in close engagement with the top of the container 82. The particular form of cover lock forms no part of the present invention and for purposes of illustration is shown as being of the type shown in the copending application of Leon J. Barrett and Norman F. Holter Serial No. 471,263, filed July 28, 1930. With this lock, the bowl rim provides spaced longitudinal lugs 83 which project inwardly and correspond in number to spaced teeth 84 projecting outwardly from the periphery of the cover 53. The cover 53 also provides a pair of diametrically opposed arms 85, 85 each pivotally mounted on the cover 53 at 86, the end portion of each arm 85 having a width equal to the space between a pair of bowl lugs 83.

As best shown in Fig. 4, when it is desired to lock the cover 53 in position on the bowl 10, the arms 85 are placed in a'inement with a pair of diametrically opposed teeth 84, after which the cover is put in place with its teeth 84 positioned in the spaces between the lugs 83. In this position of the cover 53, the arms 85 are prevented from turning on their pivots 86 by reason of the close reception of the ends of the arms 85 between adjacent lugs 83, although it is obvious that the cover 53 as a whole can be turned independently of the arms 85. In order to turn the cover with respect to the locked arms 85, handles 87 and 88 are provided on the cover 53 and arms 85, respectively, so that by grasping a pair of handles 87 and 88 and squeezing them together, the cover 53 can be rotated beneath the arms 85. In Fig. 4 the cover 53 is shown as having been so turned, from which it is evident that all of the teeth 84 have been shifted so as to be disposed under the stationary lugs 83 on the bowl 10. With the parts in this position, obviously the cover 53 is firmly locked around the rim of the bowl 10 so as to maintain the container 42 in position within the bowl 10. When it is desired to unlock the cover 53 from the bowl 10 handles 89 on the cover 53 oppositely disposed with respect to the handles 87 are pulled towards the stationary handles 88 so as to turn the cover 53 in a counterclockwise direction, thereby disengaging the teeth 84 from the lugs 83, as shown in dotted lines.

In order to prevent the cover 53 from being rotated after moving the teeth 84 into locking engagement with the lugs 83, a latch 90 is pivotally supported on a pin 91 carried by lugs 92 projecting from one arm 85, the latch being so formed as to embrace the handle 88 on the arm 85. With the cover 53 locked, the lower edge of the latch 90 is received in a notch 93 provided in a locking bar 94 carried by the cover 53. The locking bar 94 which is in the form of an angle iron has the horizontal flange thereof cut away, as indicated at 97, Fig. 4, to permit the movement of the arm thereunder, the bar being secured to the cover by rivets 96 in opposite ends of said bar. With the latch received in the notch 93 obviously the cover 53 cannot be turned with respect to the arms 85, it being necessary to lift the latch 90 in order to unlock the cover 53. When the cover 53 has been turned from the locked position of Fig. 4 into the unlocked position, shown dotted, and the latch released, the upper edge of the bar 94 will hod the latch 90 in the raised dotted line position in which it will be impossible to close the lid 39 of the casing 3. Consequently, it will be impossible to start the machine before the cover 53 has been locked in the manner described above, for as previously pointed out, the motor controller handle 76 cannot be turned to start the motor until the lid 39 has been moved ino the position shown in Fig. 1 in which it is fuly closed. However, as soon as the cover 53 is turned into its locked position shown in Fig. 8, the movement of the bar 94 with the cover 53 permits the latch 90 to fall into the notch 93, thereby permitting closure of the lid 39 and starting of the motor in the manner previously described. Obviously, other forms of cover locks for the bowl 10 may be employed, provided the lid 39 is kept from being closed until the cover 53 is locked.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that by the present invention there is provided an extremely effective centrifugal machine adapted for a large variety of uses in either washing, coating or drying articles within the perforated container driven at high speed. In addition to providing an extremey effective washing or drying action as described above, the machine is also characterized by its automatic safety features which effectively protect the operator against possible injury from flying articles or from the harmful 'eifect of washing or coat'ng so'utions which might be injurious to the skin or eyes. These safety features are such that after the container has been filled with articles and placed in the bowl, it is absolutely necessary that the operator first close and lock the cover 53 after which it is necessary to close the lid 39 and lock it in position by the latch 6'7, for not until then can the motor be operated by turning the motor controller handle 76. After the machine has been operating and it is desired to remove the article container 42, the operator must throw the motor control handle 76 to the neutral position, thereby stopping the motor, before it is possible to open the lid 39 by unlatching the handle 60, preparatory to removing the container 42 with its locked cover 53.

We claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a hollow casing providing a movable lid, a hollow bowl rotatably mounted within said casing, a motor for revolving said bowl within said casing and an article container receivable in said bowl, of a controller for said motor, locking means engaging said motor controller to prevent operation thereof, a latch to main tain the lid of said casing closed, said latch cooperating with said locking means to render said locking means inoperative when said lid is locked in closed position, a cover for said container, locking means for said cover, and means associated with said cover locking means to maintain said cover locking means in a position to obstruct the closure of said casing lid when said cover is unlocked, said means being inoperative when said cover is in locked condition.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a hollow casing providing a movable lid, a hollow bowl rotatably mounted within said casing, and a motor for revolving said bowl within said casing, of a controller for said motor, locking means engaging with said controller to prevent movement thereof, said locking means being rendered inoperative by closure of said casing lid, a cover for said bowl, and means cooperating with said cover and supported on said cover in position for engagement with the lid of said casing to maintain said lid in open conditon, said means being removed from engaging position when said cover is in a locked condition, to permit closure of said lid.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a hollow casing providing a movable lid, a hollow bowl rotatably mounted within said casing, and a motor for revolving said bowl within said casing, of a controller for said motor, locking means engageable with said controller to prevent operation of the motor, said locking means being rendered inoperative by closure of the lid of the casing, a cover for said bowl, and means for locking'said cover in a closed condition, said locking means being supported in a position for obstructing the lid of the casing to prevent closure of the same when said cover is unlocked.

4. In a machine of" the class described, the combination with a hollow, casing providing a movable lid, a hollow bowlflrotatably mounted within said casing, and a motor for revolving said bowl within said casing, of a controller for said motor, locking means engaging said motor controller to prevent operation thereof, a latch to maintain the lid of said casing closed, said latch cooperating with said locking means to render said locking means inoperative when said lid is locked in closed position, a cover for said container, locking means for said cover, and means associated with said cover locking means to maintain said cover locking means in a position to obstruct the closure of said casing lid when said cover is unlocked, said means being inoperative when said cover is in a locked condition to permit closure of said lid.

LEON J. BARRETT. GEORGE E. GARNO. 

